Racing game 'Blurs' the lines...

Review: Blur
Systems: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Let's start with the bottom line: Yes, Blur is Mario Kart dressed in more adult clothing, but this fact makes it no less enjoyable. Blur is a guilt-free joy-ride full of real-world cars, in real-world environments but racing in surreal events.

Developer Bizarre Creations has combined two of its earlier games to pump out Blur. The game borrows largely from the Xbox exclusive Project Gotham Racing franchise, as well as – believe it or not – the neon frenzy of Geometry Wars, the classic arcade shooter.

With slick presentation, featuring a cool dark-neon lit interface, moody electro-pop soundtrack and pixel burning action, Blur sets the scene nicely, drawing the player in from the moment the game boots up.

The single player aspect of the game is structured into compartmentalised groups of challenges, headed by a personality that gives the player certain in-game tasks to complete. These tasks range from the obvious 'finish in the top 3 in five events' to the more whacky such as 'shunt a car into the water'. Completing these tasks unlocks a one-on-one challenge to win a specially modded car.

There are three types of racing challenges in Blur:

- Checkpoint Time Trials sees you selecting a vehicle and then going up against the clock.
- Destruction will pit you against inferior AI controlled racers asking to be blown from the track.
- Racing speaks for itself, really.

Each challenge is a relatively short shot of action straight into the blood stream, no Le-Mans 24 hour racing here; each event being over in five to ten minutes at most. 

The race tracks vary in terrain, though the distinction is simply one of off-road versus tarmac, with a bit of water action thrown in from time to time. Locations move from urban city streets to beach-side boulevards, culverts and docks, and there is enough variation and secret path hunting here to keep most gamers happy, but it won't take long to learn the best racing lines through each environment.

Like all good Mario Kart-style racers, there are 'power-ups' scattered around the tracks. Each car can hold three, and for the most part they represent standard augmentations for these kinds of games.

There are disruptive bolts and mines that can be shot forwards or backwards, nitro boosts, shields and repair power-ups to be had.  There is also the more eccentric electro shock, which launches shimmering blue electrified blobs out in front of the race leaders in an attempt to shut them down.

Then there is the shunt power-up, also capable of tracking forward or reverse to home in on and blow a rival vehicle into the air, loosing precious seconds as well as damaging the foe. Finally there is the barge, which can be used offensively as a short ranged shove, or defensively to neutralise an incoming shunt.

After a few races, you will find the use of power-ups becomes very tactical. Dropping a mine on a corner apex, saving a Barge for those incoming Shunts when you are in the lead, mixing offensive and defensive moves will be crucial to success in this title.

Within each challenge there are a couple of scales of success. Lights are gained by meeting set targets such as placing in the top three during a race, beating the clock in a checkpoint challenge, or wrecking enough targets in a destruction game. Tallying up lights unlocks further challenges in the game.

The second measure of success is fans, in a similar ways to 'kudos' in the Project Gotham Racing series; Bizarre Creations introduces a way for drivers to garner fans during each event. Perform combos with power-ups, meet fan requests within races and finish high in the placings and fans will flock to your name. Drive with style and guess what – you'll be a star!

Gaining more fans unlocks new vehicles and this is great in that (regardless of how well you do in a race) you will still reap some fans. Eventually, the fan level will unlock the vehicle you need to pass a particularly tough challenge, and thus, garner lights to unlock further challenges.

There are sixty odd licensed cars to unlock in the game in four speed classes. Vehicles range from light two wheel drives, such as the Ford Focus RS, right up to four-wheel beasts such as the BMW M5, Land Rover Defender SVX or Hummer. 

Picking the right car for the right job is important. If the track is mostly off-road, then picking the Hummer or the all-paw Audi TTS Coupe is a good move.

Each car has acceleration and top speed ratings, as well as a health stat which indicates the amount of damage a vehicle can take. There is also a grip rating that indicates how well the car will drift or grip the corners. Despite the photo realism of the cars, don't expect real-world physics here. The car choice however is essential to success.

Multiplayer is fantastic in Blur. Combining the quick-fire intense racing with a ranking system that unlocks new multiplayer vehicles (as well as opening up the mod-garage to further pimp your online ride) ensures this game is truly addictive.

Blur offers online multiplayer gaming through Xbox Live on Xbox 360 or the PlayStation network on PS3, as well as the rare LAN play and even rarer (in today's video game world) split screen multiplayer for you and three mates to enjoy at home.

Blur's flaws are few and sometimes a blessing in disguise. The fan system for instance almost insists on each result being accepted just to add to your fan tally.  So going the long way around to retry an event is preferable to just hitting the 'retry' button at the end of event.

Secondly, if your car oversteers or gets rammed from behind and twisted, the game 'reset' kicks in (automatically repositioning your car on centre of the track) rather quickly. And sometimes to your frustration. Especially just as you were about to 'save' the situation, with the reset costing valuable seconds. Sometimes however, the reset will be accompanied by cheering as your terrible driving wrong has been quickly righted...

A white-knuckle arcade racing that is both addictive, strategic, and beautiful - both visually and aurally - Blur is a lot of fun. Bizarre Creations has crafted a driving experience that is extremely enjoyable.